Van Dyke Parks

Re "At Last, a 'Smile' for the Ages," by Randy Lewis [Sept. 27]: "Smile" is bloody brilliant! Poured myself a nice stiff drink, read the booklet and then put on the headphones, turned out the lights and listened to it from beginning to end. As many times as I've heard all the old bits and pieces, it sounded fresh from the first note -- then I found myself alternately laughing and crying (and I do mean that literally) at the sheer beauty and bravado of it all. The segues are simply amazing, and the musicality of it all is awe-inspiring.

Van Dyke Parks has a story for everything in his life, from the name of his pet schnauzer to the mug in which he served a visitor coffee on a recent morning at his antique-lined home in Pasadena. "You know where I got that cup?" asked Parks, an important figure on the margins of the Los Angeles pop scene since the mid-1960s, when he wrote allusive lyrics for the Beach Boys' ill-fated "Smile" album. The mug was emblazoned with the logo of the New York Flute Club, founded nearly a century ago by Georges Barrère, whose grandson Paul went on to play in the band Little Feat with one of Parks' best friends, the late Lowell George.

Michelle is shocked. She ain't alone ("Shocked Treatment," by Steve Hochman, Oct. 6). But she deserves high praise for the price of her indignation and the courage to speak up. She's taken dead aim at the abusive nature of recording contracts. Anyone who works for these labels who knows what these companies have been getting away with should be ashamed. It's slavery all right, the very kind outlawed by the 13th Amendment. Don Engel ("Do you ever hear of an actor who has to give up his first million dollars of pay from a movie in order to get the film made?"

The songwriter-arranger Van Dyke Parks might be best known for his collaborations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, but he keeps up with contemporary acts as well. He worked with Joanna Newsom on "Ys," and at this show his brings along the L.A. chanteuse Inara George and the New Orleans pianist Tom McDermott for a round-robin concert. McCabe's. 3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sat. $22.50. McCabes.com .

The songwriter-arranger Van Dyke Parks might be best known for his collaborations with Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, but he keeps up with contemporary acts as well. He worked with Joanna Newsom on "Ys," and at this show his brings along the L.A. chanteuse Inara George and the New Orleans pianist Tom McDermott for a round-robin concert. McCabe's. 3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sat. $22.50. McCabes.com .

Van Dyke Parks has a story for everything in his life, from the name of his pet schnauzer to the mug in which he served a visitor coffee on a recent morning at his antique-lined home in Pasadena. "You know where I got that cup?" asked Parks, an important figure on the margins of the Los Angeles pop scene since the mid-1960s, when he wrote allusive lyrics for the Beach Boys' ill-fated "Smile" album. The mug was emblazoned with the logo of the New York Flute Club, founded nearly a century ago by Georges Barrère, whose grandson Paul went on to play in the band Little Feat with one of Parks' best friends, the late Lowell George.

Join two L.A. music legends from different generations as they pool their talents for a special concert, backed by a chamber orchestra led by concert master Peter Kent. Van Dyke Parks is known for his work with the Beach Boys, U2, the Grateful Dead, Ringo Starr and the Byrds. Inara George is the lilting voice behind the indie-rock duo the Bird and the Bee. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood. 7:30 p.m. Sat. Admission free with advance reservations. (310) 440-7300. http://www.getty.edu.

Pop music renaissance man Van Dyke Parks , fresh off an enthusiastically reviewed trip to Australia, has returned to his longtime home in Southern California and will play two shows on Saturday, March 30, at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. He's sharing the bill with an equally iconoclastic musician, New Orleans pianist Tom McDermott. Parks, the 70-year-old composer, arranger, orchestrator, pianist, accordionist and singer who was born in Hattiesburg, Miss., and spent a chunk of his youth in Lake Charles, La., struck up a friendship with McDermott over their shared love of the music of 19 th century composer Louis Gottschalk, a forebear of ragtime composer-performer Scott Joplin.

Mike Andrews, the producer of Inara George's new album, "An Invitation," calls it "the father-and-daughter record she never got to make." That might sound strange to students of Los Angeles rock history, who know that the singer's father, Lowell George, the eccentric and brilliant leader of the rock band Little Feat, died in 1979 of a heart attack at age 32.

Pop music renaissance man Van Dyke Parks , fresh off an enthusiastically reviewed trip to Australia, has returned to his longtime home in Southern California and will play two shows on Saturday, March 30, at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica. He's sharing the bill with an equally iconoclastic musician, New Orleans pianist Tom McDermott. Parks, the 70-year-old composer, arranger, orchestrator, pianist, accordionist and singer who was born in Hattiesburg, Miss., and spent a chunk of his youth in Lake Charles, La., struck up a friendship with McDermott over their shared love of the music of 19 th century composer Louis Gottschalk, a forebear of ragtime composer-performer Scott Joplin.

Join two L.A. music legends from different generations as they pool their talents for a special concert, backed by a chamber orchestra led by concert master Peter Kent. Van Dyke Parks is known for his work with the Beach Boys, U2, the Grateful Dead, Ringo Starr and the Byrds. Inara George is the lilting voice behind the indie-rock duo the Bird and the Bee. Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood. 7:30 p.m. Sat. Admission free with advance reservations. (310) 440-7300. http://www.getty.edu.

Inara George with Van Dyke Parks "An Invitation" (Everloving Records) * * * * Inara George is the kind of artist who'll never get called experimental, because her music sounds so sweet. Yet she is a risk-taker -- just one whose voice is clear and accessible. In the past few years, the 34-year-old L.A.

Mike Andrews, the producer of Inara George's new album, "An Invitation," calls it "the father-and-daughter record she never got to make." That might sound strange to students of Los Angeles rock history, who know that the singer's father, Lowell George, the eccentric and brilliant leader of the rock band Little Feat, died in 1979 of a heart attack at age 32.

Inara George with Van Dyke Parks "An Invitation" (Everloving Records) * * * * Inara George is the kind of artist who'll never get called experimental, because her music sounds so sweet. Yet she is a risk-taker -- just one whose voice is clear and accessible. In the past few years, the 34-year-old L.A.

Re "At Last, a 'Smile' for the Ages," by Randy Lewis [Sept. 27]: "Smile" is bloody brilliant! Poured myself a nice stiff drink, read the booklet and then put on the headphones, turned out the lights and listened to it from beginning to end. As many times as I've heard all the old bits and pieces, it sounded fresh from the first note -- then I found myself alternately laughing and crying (and I do mean that literally) at the sheer beauty and bravado of it all. The segues are simply amazing, and the musicality of it all is awe-inspiring.

Michelle is shocked. She ain't alone ("Shocked Treatment," by Steve Hochman, Oct. 6). But she deserves high praise for the price of her indignation and the courage to speak up. She's taken dead aim at the abusive nature of recording contracts. Anyone who works for these labels who knows what these companies have been getting away with should be ashamed. It's slavery all right, the very kind outlawed by the 13th Amendment. Don Engel ("Do you ever hear of an actor who has to give up his first million dollars of pay from a movie in order to get the film made?"